Parramatta Leagues Club board sacked, administrator appointed

Denis Fitzgerald will not be standing at the upcoming Parramatta Leagues Club elections, but he and former Parramatta powerbroker Roy Spagnolo will still make their presence felt at the ballot box.

A total of 27 candidates are vying for seven spots on the board, which controls the Eels football team. While there are a handful of independents, the majority are aligned to incumbent chairman Steve Sharp, former chairman Roy Spagnolo or long-time administrator Fitzgerald. The latter, who ran the club for three decades before being ousted by a Spagnolo-led ticket in 2009, subsequently helped Sharp to overthrow the Spagnolo regime.

Fitzgerald vowed to run during the latest power struggle at the blue and golds, but was informed he will be ineligible to do so because his contract was terminated by the club. Fitzgerald told Fairfax Media last week he intended taking the matter to the Supreme Court, but it's understood he has not done so at this stage.

Despite his absence from the ballot sheet - and that of another ally in Lawrence Shepherd after he too was deemed ineligible to stand - Fitzgerald has assembled a ticket seeking to gain control of the club. The Fitzgerald-aligned Parramatta Professionals ticket is expected to be comprised of at least half a dozen candidates which could include former player Mark Riddell and former trainer Craig Catterick and other local identities. While the closure of nominations means the battle lines have been drawn, it's understood some candidates are still unsure which ticket to align with or whether to stand as independents. Spagnolo's ticket is likely to feature former Eel Ben Smith and businessmen Andrew Eagleston and Ray Fares.

The composition of Sharp's ParraFirst ticket has been confirmed as the premiership-winning forward seeks a second term in office. Joining Sharp and incumbent directors Tom Issa, Geoff Gerard and Peter Serrao are NSW MP and Deputy Speaker of the House Tanya Gadiel from Parramatta City Council, five-term Parramatta lord mayor Paul Garrard and businessman Andrew Cordell.

The Eels elections have historically been divisive affairs and, with three factions jostling for power, the latest battle for control is likely to be another bitter one.

Sharp is pleading for stability ahead of next month's vote and annual general meeting.

"If we are successful in gaining re-election and the continuing confidence of our members, the Parramatta Leagues Club Group will be transformed into a multi-faceted business encompassing gaming, sporting, entertainment and hospitality," Sharp said.

"We've sought out strong candidates who we know will provide the club with the right skill set to help lead the business through the most exciting and important era in its history."

Sharp pointed to a record Leagues Club profit of $12.5 million, a planned $100 million redevelopment of the precinct and a new training facility as reasons to stick with the current regime.

"We now have a strong squad and a great coaching staff ready to take the step towards being genuine premiership contender during the coming years," Sharp said.

"The recruitment of international players Anthony Watmough, Kieran Foran and Beau Scott and a strong investment in our junior elite pathways will lay the platform for an era of sustainable success on the field."

Well you seem to know more about this than the rest of us so feel free to tell us which ones are apparently aligned with spag?

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Courtesy of Proshenks

Despite his absence from the ballot sheet - and that of another ally in Lawrence Shepherd after he too was deemed ineligible to stand - Fitzgerald has assembled a ticket seeking to gain control of the club. The Fitzgerald-aligned Parramatta Professionals ticket is expected to be comprised of at least half a dozen candidates which could include former player Mark Riddell and former trainer Craig Catterick and other local identities. While the closure of nominations means the battle lines have been drawn, it's understood some candidates are still unsure which ticket to align with or whether to stand as independents. Spagnolo's ticket is likely to feature former Eel Ben Smith and businessmen Andrew Eagleston and Ray Fares.

Of the as yet unaligned candidates (listed below), I recall John Fenwick and Peter Thompson having run as individuals several times before... and Michael Johnson may be Dr Michael Johnson, former director from 2004-2010?

Long-suffering Parramatta fans aren't waiting for the NRL to roll its board, with preparations well underway to take matters into their own hands to clean out its controversial directors.

Parramatta Leagues Club members require 101 signatures to force an extraordinary general meeting to overthrow the current regime. Plans to stage the coup have begun, including the drafting of 24 resolutions that will ensure the current board is removed and replaced by one with the business acumen required to resurrect the Eels.

The decision of the 'gang of five' &#8211; chairman Steve Sharp, deputy Tom Issa, fellow director Peter Serrao, CEO John Boulous and footy ops manager Daniel Anderson &#8211; not to stand down after receiving their breach notices, even when competition points were at risk, is the last straw for many PLC members. One of them, local businessman Andrew Eagleston, is leading the push for reform.

"The club doesn't have the stability to reach its potential on and off the field," Eagleston said.

"We need change and a fresh start. The big losers out of this are the fans, the players and the sponsors with what we have to endure as a club.

"The players' contract negotiations and the ongoing issues that have gone on prior are unacceptable.

"We need people who are going to put the club first, not themselves."

Once the signatures are gathered, it's expected that an EGM can be convened, with or without the club's consent, within two months.

I'm sure one of Roy Spags' other back room buddies (that is still a valid member) will take up that torch when the time comes... :roll:

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Why couldn't it be one of Fitzys buddies?? Or why couldn't it be a member not aligned with any faction who's got jack of this shit?? ... Maybe so some research on Andrew Eagleston and see who he's aligned with...personally I couldn't give a rats

I need time to fix the mess, says potential Parramatta Eels group CEO Bevan Paul

Date
May 19, 2016 - 6:49PM

Adrian Proszenko
Chief Rugby League Reporter

Parramatta Leagues Club CEO Bevan Paul will only take on the group CEO role if he is given sufficient time to drag the Eels out of crisis, declaring: "If the problems weren't big problems, we wouldn't be staring at the loss of 12 points and $1 million."

There was already tension between Paul and the board after he rejected a request to take on the role on an interim basis because of the magnitude of the task. The antagonism heightened further after private social media correspondence between director Tanya Gadiel and an Eels member &#8211; in which she said Paul wouldn't get the role full-time "on my watch" &#8211; was posted on a fan forum.

The development comes as two groups of disgruntled Parramatta supporters seek the 101 signatures required to force an extraordinary general meeting to unseat the current board and force a new election.

The Eels have a huge void in their executive after chairman Steve Sharp, deputy Tom Issa, football manager Daniel Anderson, CEO John Boulous and director Peter Serrao were handed breach notices by the NRL for their role in the club's salary cap scandal. The club is trying to clean up the mess and retain a host of players, headed by off-contract playmaker Corey Norman, at a time where there is effectively no one at the helm.

Paul was approached about filling the breach as group CEO after posting some strong results for the leagues club, which included two years of record profits, the retirement of all debt and drafting a plan for the new precinct. But the majority of directors only want Paul in the role for about six weeks while the 'gang of five' are in the process of responding to a breach notice. It's understood Paul was after a 12-month contract to give him the time to required turn around the Eels and put protocols in place to avoid another salary cap scandal.

"If there weren't any problems in the Eels, then no one would be needed to go in there at all," Paul told Fairfax Media. "If the problems weren't big problems, we wouldn't be staring at the loss of 12 points and $1 million."

The impasse leaves the club without a clear direction. Adding to the tension was the posting of an exchange between Gadiel and Matt Hollier, a Parramatta Leagues Club member, season ticket-holder and member of the Eels' members council. Hollier, who unsuccessfully ran alongside Sharp at the Parramatta District Rugby League elections about four years ago, messaged Gadiel and Andrew Cordwell via Facebook, imploring them to install Paul as group CEO.

The reference was to Denis Fitzgerald, the self-proclaimed Emperor of Parramatta who oversaw the Eels football club and the PLC for many years.

Hollier posted the exchange to the One Eyed Eel forum, believing the comparison with Fitzgerald was an unfavourable one after Gadiel pilloried the former Eels administrator at the recent leagues club AGM.

Asked about Gadiel's social media posting, Paul declined to comment.

"Bevan is Mr Compliance, he's done a great job whipping the leagues club into shape and we wanted a steady hand on the football side of things," Hollier, who posted to the fan forum under the pseudonym 'Muttman', told Fairfax Media.

"It's more instability that is highly unwarranted."

Gadiel hit back, claiming her private comments were taken out of context and that she was not disparaging Paul. "This is a private conversation that this fellow has gone and repeated, which speaks volumes for his integrity," Gadiel said. "The reality is the position of group CEO was the former model, the Fitzgerald model. The club has moved beyond that [model]."

Parramatta member Andrew Eagleston is behind a push to force an EGM, with his petition putting forward the names of seven new directors to replace the current ones. There is also another group seeking the signatures required to force an EGM, with their campaign likely to be launched on Friday.

Parramatta member Andrew Eagleston is behind a push to force an EGM, with his petition putting forward the names of seven new directors to replace the current ones. There is also another group seeking the signatures required to force an EGM, with their campaign likely to be launched on Friday.

Parramatta officials yesterday submitted their salary cap response to the NRL but another challenge looms on the horizon as further details emerge of plans by at least two groups to challenge the club&#8217;s surviving directors at an extraordinary general meeting.

The Weekend Australian yesterday spoke to Andrew Eagleston, who is putting together a ticket to challenge the current board in a bid to take control of the Parramatta Leagues Club and, by extension, the football side.

Eagleston, who has the support of former Macquarie bank boss and noted Eels supporter Bill Moss, is expected to unveil more details of his plans over the weekend. However, he said he had several prominent businessmen ready to step into the breach as well as the signatures required to force an EGM.

&#8220;The club needs a fresh start and our objective will be to make the Parramatta Eels a great club once again,&#8221; Eagleston said.

&#8220;All of these issues that have been coming up are unacceptable and we need to bring about change to address them.&#8221;

It is understood another group believed to involve high-profile supporter Philip Sim is also in the process of gathering the signatures required to force an EGM, heaping pressure on the existing board members as they fight to clear the club of salary cap allegations. While Eagleston has candidates lined up to replace the existing directors, it is understood the rival group is aiming to remove the board and leave their replacements in the hands of an independent body.

Only four directors remain at the club &#8212; Geoff Gerard, Andrew Cardwell, Paul Garrard and Tanya Gadiel. Chairman Steve Sharp, deputy chairman Tom Issa and fellow board member Peter Serrao were all suspended as a result of the salary cap investigation, which is expected to cost the club 12 premiership points and a $1 million fine.

The three suspended directors, along with chief executive John Boulous and head of football operations Daniel Anderson, already reeling after losing their legal challenge against the NRL, suffered another setback yesterday when the Supreme Court ruled they were responsible for costs.

Meanwhile, the salary cap allegations have now resulted in NSW police opening an investigation into the Eels after they received a copy of the NRL breach notice from the NSW Office of Liquor and Gaming. The four remaining directors also forwarded information to the police after receiving additional evidence from the NRL in recent weeks in relation to the actions of a former employee.

Against that backdrop, Eels officials yesterday put the finishing touches on their submission to the NRL and remain hopeful the game&#8217;s governing body will be sympathetic to their cause. The club&#8217;s hopes of playing finals hinge on the outcome.

While the move to unseat the current board has ramped up, it threatens to be a long and painstaking process. Once the requisite signatures are secured, they must be lodged with the company secretary &#8212; leagues club boss Bevan Paul. The signatures must then be verified to ensure all those involved are voting members. If any one of them is not, the process needs to start again. Even once the signatures are verified, it could be up to two months before an EGM is called. Eagleston is no stranger to the voting process, having run at the last elections.

He secured 164 votes &#8212; more than 700 was required to secure a seat on the board. However, that setback hasn&#8217;t swayed him from making another move to gain a say in the club&#8217;s future as moves to remove the existing board members gather momentum.

Any move to remove the board would have significant ramifications on a number of fronts. The club is in the midst of attempting to secure five-eighth Corey Norman to an extension while coach Brad Arthur has been linked with the New Zealand Warriors.

Eagleston ran with ParraMount last election - they carred on like a bunch of merkins during the campaign, including a website containing information that they were legally forced to remove.

Eagleston represents the days of factionalism - the days we are trying to move past. I wouldn't trust a single person that had their name attached to ParraMount with the future of our club.

australian article said:

While the move to unseat the current board has ramped up, it threatens to be a long and painstaking process. Once the requisite signatures are secured, they must be lodged with the company secretary  leagues club boss Bevan Paul. The signatures must then be verified to ensure all those involved are voting members. If any one of them is not, the process needs to start again.

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So if we want the appointment of some independent directors to go ahead in August (to satisfy the club's off-season agreement with the NRL) - we'd need to sabotage these attempts to force an EGM, perhaps by ensuring a non-member signs the petitions :sarcasm:?

australian article said:

Even once the signatures are verified, it could be up to two months before an EGM is called.

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Gee some people are hell bent on not letting our club recover, and work with the NRL to improve governance... hopefully the petition/EGM process falls over, and the Board (with independent Directors) can get on with trying to fix things before there are more elections/instability.

So if we want the appointment of some independent directors to go ahead in August (to satisfy the club's off-season agreement with the NRL) - we'd need to sabotage these attempts to force an EGM, perhaps by ensuring a non-member signs the petitions :sarcasm:?

Gee some people are hell bent on not letting our club recover, and work with the NRL to improve governance... hopefully the petition/EGM process falls over, and the Board (with independent Directors).

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Having an external party select any replacement PLC board members removes the factions and moves us closer to the independent model you seek. Too bad the current PLC board don't seem to see it that way.
And don't forget the NRL don't and can't force changes to the PLC board. That's up to you Phantom and all the other voting PLC members. The August agreement with the NRL is for PNRL directors, not PLC directors.

Eagleston ran with ParraMount last election - they carred on like a bunch of merkins during the campaign, including a website containing information that they were legally forced to remove.

Eagleston represents the days of factionalism - the days we are trying to move past. I wouldn't trust a single person that had their name attached to ParraMount with the future of our club.

So if we want the appointment of some independent directors to go ahead in August (to satisfy the club's off-season agreement with the NRL) - we'd need to sabotage these attempts to force an EGM, perhaps by ensuring a non-member signs the petitions :sarcasm:?

Gee some people are hell bent on not letting our club recover, and work with the NRL to improve governance... hopefully the petition/EGM process falls over, and the Board (with independent Directors) can get on with trying to fix things before there are more elections/instability.